first night of channukah & non-inherited latke-disability

[cimorene]

it seems like, among the channukahs on my friendslist, mine was one of the nicest. anglepoiselamp and shiroi_chi came over: the former brought red wine, the latter fascinating anecdotes about her recent adventures in socialising with mundanes (including her new dreadlocked emo ninja buddy and his non-identical twin o.O).

the really funny part is how despite years of growing up and making latkes not only with my mother but with my aunts and great-aunt as well, i've never made them even 80% alone, so when i first tried it with wax two years ago we tried two different times in a row and failed spectacularly both times, producing singed, oil-sodden latkes that were crumbling apart and just were no good at all. my preferred way to eat them also happens to be with applesauce, and there is no applesauce in finland, so i decided to give up last year. this year i just made roasted potatoes instead, not that my finnish friends would know the difference if i hadn't told them.

but other than the absence of latkes it was great: i cooked for two hours and produced a very tasty mini-feast of potatoes and orange chicken, with brownies, and also mini hazelnut nougat chocolates since i've never found anyplace where you can buy gelt here. then we watched the awesome recent kiss kiss bang bang with robert downey jr and his mancrush val kilmer. ♥

i'd kind of like to have a family celebration still, though - it's not really the same without children there to give presents to. after my little sister passed about eight or ten my parents started inviting family friends with toddlers whenever possible, whom we'd then give presents to - which i didn't completely understand at first, but i think i'm at an age now when i, too, get disproportionate enjoyment from watching small children open presents. not that i don't like giving presents to adults too, but i seem to have landed in a family whose traditions involve asking someone what they want you to give them and then not necessarily even bothering to wrap it since it's not a surprise anyway. *culture shock!*

ps: who left a sparkly gold scarf here?

Comments

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Mmm latkes. Also wtf how can there be no applesauce? My mind boggles. What kind of country is that!?

In my family our presents aren't much of a surprise. When I was growing up, it was more so, and we gave to everyone in the family. But somtime in high school, we switched to just doing a (not-so-secret) santa thing, where my aunt matches names, so we only have to buy one present each. We usually give each other a list of things, so while it's not a complete surprise, as it's something on the list, we don't know what on the list it might be, so it's at least somewhat of a surprise. We still wrap gifts, though.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

i was so baffled by the lack of applesauce too! i kept asking and kept asking and finnish people kept saying, "do you mean apple jam?" but the apple jam they make here is heavily sweetened and flavoured with cinnamon and it's also totally a homemade thing (and runnier than applesauce), and you can't buy it in supermarkets. but according to my finnish friends buying jam in the store is relatively weird too. like people do do it when they have to but for the most part outside of the giant cities it's considered inferior. chi said she says guilty when she doesn't make her own jam. o.O oh well, it's, um, a pretty rural place still, overall. the first year here, i bought apple-pear babyfood to eat on the latke, but it wasn't right either, alas. :/

the whole secret santa thing sounds like a really good idea. wax's family is a lot smaller than my extended family, and the circle of people to buy gifts for is just five for each couple (her mother, two brothers and their wives).

[morningfine]

My mom actually makes this practically unsweetened apple jam thing she uses in baking then. It doesn't keep for very long, obv, because it's got no preservatives and almost no sugar, but it's good. Probably not the same thing, though. Awesome with yoghurt.

I keep feeling kind of warm and full from last night. ♥

P.S: I did.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

maybe i should do something like that. it's not too hard to make jam, is it? i mean you couldn't end up with it singed, lukewarm, limp and unappetising?

ps: do you want it back or shall i use it as spare tinsel?

[anglepoiselamp.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, a Christmas tree decorated with scarves. That's so Doctor Whoesque...

[cimness.livejournal.com]

the current tinsel's actually on the bookshelves... >.>;

[oneko-briar.livejournal.com]

mazel tov! i didn't know you celebrated chanukkah since i know your grandparents are catholic. is celebrating for you and your family a unitarian universalist thing?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

no. i shudder to think what travesties uus might commit with it considering what they used to do with a native american "thanksgiving seder" at our congregation. we always celebrated both channukah and christmas because my dad is a jew, albeit an atheist one.

[omega-h.livejournal.com]

I think Euroshopper has one kind of applesauce that is definitely not jam. And no, it's not difficult to make.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

i see people with shopping bags from there a lot but i'm not sure i actually know where it is...?

[omega-h.livejournal.com]

No, Euroshopper is a brand. I think you can get Euroshopper stuff from K-stores. I think.